Why join the course?

What is gravity? This fundamental force is the common theme between concepts as intriguing as the Big Bang, black holes, dark energy, space-time, gravitational waves and the expansion of the Universe.

If these concepts pique your interest, this free online course is for you. It doesn’t require any background in physics or mathematics, just a simple curiosity about the Universe and our place in it.

Discover why the discovery of gravitational waves in 2016 is a real scientific revolution

The theory of gravity, Einstein’s theory of relativity, was published in 1915. This course presents in a simple way the main ideas behind this theory, before explaining why “gravity is the engine of the Universe.”

We will also explore the 2016 discovery of gravitational waves – a phenomenon that Einstein predicted exactly 100 years ago.
By the end of the course, we’ll find out:

why, the further you look, the more distant the past is;

how we can tell what happened just after the Big Bang;

what the dark components of the Universe are;

what happens when you cross the horizon of a black hole;

why the discovery of gravitational waves is opening an extraordinary exploration of our Universe and our space-time.

Learn with gravity experts including a Nobel Prize-winning physicist

Over six weeks, you’ll learn with Pierre Binétruy, the Director of the Paris Centre for Cosmological Physics at Paris Diderot University, as well as the cosmologist, George Smoot, who will explain the discovery that earned him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2006.

1:56Skip to 1 minute and 56 secondsTo cross or not to cross the horizon of a black hole? Is it a question? If you want to know why, if you want to know how, and much more, please join us on the MOOC Gravity on Future Learn.

What topics will you&nbspcover?

The development of the theory of gravity from Galileo to Newton et Einstein

An introduction to the principles of general relativity

The acceleration of the Universe

Big Bang theory

The theory of cosmic inflation

First light in the Universe: the cosmic microwave background

The discovery of fluctuations in the cosmic background

The scientific case for dark matter

The acceleration of the expansion of the Universe and dark energy

The notion of vacuum in quantum theory and in gravitation

The physics of black holes

Scientific debates around the status of information in black holes

The discovery of gravitational waves

Space missions associated with the theme of gravity

When would you like to&nbspstart?

Date to be announced

What will you&nbspachieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

Explore the modern concepts underlying the fundamental aspects of the physics of the Universe

Design thought experiments which illustrate the basic properties of the gravitational force in familiar (on Earth) or unfamiliar (on the Moon, in space or close to black holes) settings

Discuss with other learners the most subtle or most unusual properties of space and time in the context of gravity

Experiment with gravity using simple experiments in order to better identify the basic concepts

Investigate complementary aspects of gravity by researching science magazines or the web

Debate about the present controversies in the physics of the Universe using the concepts learned in the course and scientific reasoning

Who is the course&nbspfor?

This course doesn’t require any background in physics or mathematics, just a simple curiosity about the Universe.